Pan-African civic society and the private sector have launched a Pan African youth volunteer scheme for African youth to drive social impact.

Development organization LEAP Africa has partnered with material science manufacturer DOW Africa to unveil the fourth edition of the Youth Day of Service (YDoS), a Pan-African youth-led social impact campaign.

The month-long event aims to engage 7000 youths in volunteerism and community service to help promote achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the previous three years, it has impacted a population of 6 million individuals in 24 African countries and completed 600 SDGs projects.

Speaking at the unveil announcement in Nairobi, LEAP Africa Executive Director Kehinde Ayeni said that the event will bring together youth and high-level stakeholders from relevant industries across Africa through community activations from August 12-31, 2023.

“One of our strategic pillars at LEAP Africa is to raise talents for the actualization of the SDGs. This campaign is a demonstration of our commitment to youth-led actions for Sustainable Development across Africa. We believe in the power, voices, numbers and agency of young people coupled with engagement platforms to retool youth with the skills that can shape SDGs implementation across the continent. We are fostering partnerships to bring the achievement of the goals closer.”

Attaining the SDGs is critical for the African continent than any other region in the world.  According to the United Nations, 70% of Africa’s population, or 1.2 billion people, are under the age of 30.

Mumbi Keega, DOW Africa’s Public Affairs Lead-Africa said: “Dow is committed to fostering positive change and building resilient and sustainable communities in Africa. We believe that this can only be achieved by working together with the African youth, who are vital to promoting social welfare. Through our partnership with LEAP Africa, we are supporting the Youth Day of Service (YDoS) initiative, which empowers young people to use their skills and talents to make a difference in their communities. We are proud to be a part of YDoS and to support the next generation of African leaders who are working to create a more sustainable and equitable future for all.”

Scheduled to commence on the 12^th of August on International Youth Day, this initiative will engage young people across Africa in a month-long service to their communities, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year marks the fourth edition of this initiative and focuses on rallying young people, corporate organisations, as well as public and social sector organisations to become active social agents. The goal is to renew the spirit of active youth citizenship with an emphasis on spreading the culture of service and collective responsibility. The campaign will feature different projects championed by young people in various African communities across the continent.

“We are excited to partner with LEAP Africa once again on this important initiative that drives sustainable development across the continent through active collaboration, investments, and empowerment,” said Sami Mainich, President, Dow Africa. “Dow has a long history of supporting youth development, and we believe that this partnership will help us to advance our commitment to building a more sustainable future.

By working with LEAP Africa, we are empowering young people to make a positive impact in their communities as they collaborate to achieve the SDGs. We encourage young people from all over Africa to get involved and help us build the Africa we want.”

In 2022, Dow Africa – as a headline sponsor – and LEAP Africa mobilized over 4000 young people across 24 African countries to implement 210 projects which spanned across all 17 sustainable development goals. The projects which were implemented physically, virtually using digital devices, and in hybrid formats included tree plantings, food drives, beach clean-ups, medical outreaches, educational workshops and training, and virtual advocacy campaigns.

In her remarks about the partnership with Dow for the 2023 YDoS campaign, Kehinde Ayeni, Executive Director, LEAP Africa, said, “We believe in the agency of young people and the power of their voices, creativity and energy when positively harnessed.

The YDoS is a massive campaign gradually catching on across Africa annually, which we are immensely proud of. LEAP Africa intends to push young people to think and be involved in social impact projects to deliver the Africa we want. 

Leveraging strategic partnerships has played a prominent role in deepening the impact of our programmatic efforts across Africa. The partnership with Dow last year enabled us to empower more African young people. We anticipate greater achievements for YDoS 2023 with this renewed partnership”.

Since its establishment over 125 years ago, Dow has been passionate about advancing science and innovation to find solutions to questions that can change the world for the better. Young people are key stakeholders in building a sustainable future, and Dow believes that by empowering and partnering with them, it can further its Blueprint thinking, contextualize its 2025 sustainability goals, and develop tomorrow’s innovators within the African youth community.

Participants interested in the 2023 initiative can either register their own project, volunteer for an existing project or sponsor the execution of a project. The registered projects can be physical projects or active virtual advocacy in different locations across Africa. To learn more about the YDoS campaign or to register for an event, please visit www.youthdayofservice.org.